WORK on what is described as one of the most environmentally efficient residential buildings in the country is underway in central Manchester.

The cylindrical shaped Green Building is phase four of Macintosh Village, the new residential area being created on land that stretches from behind the railway arches on Whitworth Street West to Hulme Street, which runs parallel with Oxford Road.

At its core is a specially designed ventilation system controlled by the glass-topped atrium. The atrium is sealed in winter, so air is trapped and warmed then drawn down into the apartments, and opened in summer, with the drum acting like a chimney stack drawing the hot air up and out of the building.

Architects Farrell and Partners say this natural ventilation system can cut fuel bills by 50 per cent.

But the ventilation is just the start of its green credentials.

Solar panels on the roof will provide the main source of power for water-heating, although there will also be a central power plant with gas-fired boilers.

All the materials used will have low energy rating and the insulation will be so good that CO2 emissions will be 60 per cent less than conventional apartment blocks.

Windmill

The cute windmill on the roof will actually create enough power for the common lighting areas. All light fittings are designed to accept only low energy lamps.

The residents will have to do their bit separating out their rubbish and committing to recycling.

This residential drum will rest on a triangular plinth, which will house a childrenés nursery already taken by Kids Unlimited.

Developers Taylor Woodrow are investing é130m in Manchester and north west region MD Guy Taylor said: éThis is the most innovative and environmentally friendly development in the country, and we hope it will be a signpost for similar projects.é

Although the Green Building has only just been released, contracts on four of the apartments have already been exchanged.

So who wants to live in a drum? David Bailey is a London based architect whose work on projects at UMIST and the MRI regularly brings him to Manchester. He has bought a 520 sq ft one-bedroom apartment on the River Street side facing south west and said: éMy work will bring me to Manchester for a few more years and I have been looking at various schemes. As an architect I am very interested to see what others are doing and I wanted to buy something that was unique and unusual.

éI was taken by the fact that the building is designed on green principles, is very well thought through in terms of space and how it all works together, and it is in a great location.é

It is being sold by Knight Frank and prices just released reflect the exclusivity. One-bedroom apartments on the first floor are priced at é148,850, rising to é193,400 for single-bedroom units at the top of the tower on the ninth floor. Two bedrooms start at é225,750.